British Gas employee encourages take-up of apprenticeships

A qualified engineer is encouraging young people to consider taking up an apprenticeship following the success he had with his own.

Sandeep Khera, of The Green, Waltham Abbey, is a former apprentice who is now well on the road to a successful career with nationwide company British Gas.

Mr Khera, 24, told the Guardian Series – Epping Forest that he did not believe that university was the only gateway to success and wanted to let other young people know how much value an apprenticeship can bring.

Mr Khera left Sheredes School in Hoddesdon, and did not feel that higher education was the right next step for him. “I never thought about university. I wasn’t academic and I didn’t think I’d get a job at the end and I’d be deep in debt with loans,” he said.

Mr Khera went on to say that he had had “some training in plumbing under my belt with a local company straight from school but I wanted to give other jobs a go to see if this was a life-long job. I tried working in retail, I did some office work but I wanted something that would give me skills and a job for life.”

He decided to pursue the apprentice route and applied for an apprenticeship position with British Gas. Now a qualified engineer himself, he is lending his support to a campaign aimed at encouraging youngsters to start an apprenticeship.

“I’d encourage anyone with an interest to apply. At the end of the day, it’s not easy getting a job but if you aim high, you could find yourself doing a job like me in just two years time,” he said.